Korea: Lights, camera, drama!
Our eyes tear up and we reach for a box of tissue paper as we watch starcrossed young lovers Seo Inha (played by Jang Keun-suk) and Kim Yunhee (played by Yoona) go their separate ways in Love Rain. The story is set in the 1970s, when the the Beatles was all the rave and flower power was in full bloom. But the lovers are destined to cross paths again when their children are both grownups (he’s now divorced and she’s now a widow). As fate would have it, Inha’s son Joon, a photographer, and Yunhee’s daughter Ha Na, a student helping out in a botanical garden, meet and sparks fly. Once more with feeling, the incurable romantic in us sighs at the outpouring of love, like gentle drops of rain, between the young lovers. We couldn’t help asking this heart-tugging question: Will the children have the same tragic love story as their parents?
In another love story that’s literally out of this world, dashing alien Do Min Jun or Matteo in our Filipino-dubbed version (played by Rim Soo Hyun) crash lands on earth 400 years ago. He’s got x-ray vision, bionic hearing and agility. Then he meets his next-door neighbor, actress Cheon Song I (played by Gianna Jun), who mends his broken heart but turns his world upside down.
Another big hit among young Koreans is Dream High that tells the story of six students at Kirin High School who dream of becoming K-pop idols. So, while studying, they learn how to develop their singing, songwriting, and dancing skills as they go through the pains of personal growth. They also go through the angsts of their love life as they develop feelings for each other.
In another time, there’s the story of Jang Ok-jung, one of Korea’s best-known (and probably most-hated) royal concubines who lived during the period of the Joseon
Dynasty (1392-1910) and was known for her hunger for power and ruthless schemes. But this drama, titled Living by Love, shows this famous (or, should we say, infamous) concubine in a different light — her life as a fashion designer and cosmetics maker before she became involved with King Suk Jong and courted the ire of the Queen Mother.
These are just a few of the many wellloved Korean telenovelas which have invaded many a Filipino household (and the YouTube). I daresay these Korean dramas are Korea’s hottest exports today, perhaps even hotter than kimchi. And now, I and a group of travel agents from the Philippines get to invade the sets and sites where these telenovelas were filmed. We get to retrace the steps of Love Rain’s young lovers on the Seongseo Campus, Keimyung University in Daegu, a famous location for Korean dramas. There’s the first scene in front of the College of Art, on a street backdropped by an ivy-covered wall, where Inha falls in love with Yunhee in just three heartstopping seconds. We walk down the steps of the 3-Second Path in front of Adams Hall, where Inha covers Yunhee with a broken yellow umbrella, even if he gets soaked in the rain (and probably catches pneumonia). We get to chill out on the bench where Yunhee loves to sit while browsing a book or scribbling notes, and Inha would see her and start sketching her. We get to check out the sprawling open amphitheater on the campus, where Inha’s C’est La Vie guitar group would sing during the school festival. We get to visit C’est La Vie, a charming, ’70s-inspired music cafe, and sit on Inha’s favorite chair (the cafe is located at 244 Dongsandong, Jung-gu, opposite side of Gyesan Cathedral; open 10 a.m.-6 p.m., except Sundays and national holidays; 5,000 won admission fee, including beverage). The star-struck among us are also happy to land on the sets of
My Love from the Star (actually, exact reproductions of what appeared in the drama series) at its special exhibition and unravel the luxurious lifestyle of a famous bratty superstar — I love Cheon Song I’s shoe collection which shows how much of a shoebiz queen she is, her kikay accessories, bags, clothes, and lipsticks. We take turns sitting on the chair inside Do Min Jun’s impressive library and we assume that he doesn’t need a ladder to get the books on the high shelves because he can always use his hidden super powers and make the books fly. Lights, camera, action! At the end of the tour, you can choose from several sets and, using this as backdrop, have your photo taken with Do Min Jun and Cheon Song I (yes, you’re the third party in this love triangle)!
More action unfolds at the New Hallyu Gallery in Goyang, where you don’t have to be a star to be part of the drama. Here, you can have your pictures taken with stars from TV dramas, programs or films sponsored by Goyang City, such as Dream High and K-Pop Star, or with the famous tourist spots of Goyang in the background. Guests can even try on the school uniforms used by the stars of Dream High. Dreams do come true, don’t they?
Goyang, a happy cultural city of one million citizens, is also the location of such Korean dramas as For You in Full Blossom; Prime Minister and I, where Yoona of Love Rain again appears, this time as a clumsy
Retrace the footsteps of the stars of well-loved Korean dramas by visiting various film locations in Daegu and Goyang City and get the chance to come face to face with your favorite stars.